


if everyone goes away (i will stay)

by under_the_silk_tree



Category: Battle Creek (TV)
Genre: Community: smallfandomfest, Feelings, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28605876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/under_the_silk_tree/pseuds/under_the_silk_tree
Summary: Russ and Milt are hurt and find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Relationships: Russ Agnew/Milt Chamberlain
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11





	if everyone goes away (i will stay)

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to my beta jdl71 Written for smallfandomfest prompt: Stranded somewhere with no means of communication, and one of them is injured. Also written for hc_bingo prompt: blackmail. Ninth fic for100fandoms prompt: wreck. Title is taken by the song Breathe In Breathe Out by Mat Kearney.

Russ woke up slowly. 

The first thing he noticed was the pain in his head which managed to swing from excruciatingly sharp to a dull aching over and over again as he lay on the hard ground. He was afraid to open his eyes or move any part of himself, even his eyelids for fear of consigning his already beleaguered brain to more hurt. Instead he tried to categorize other sensations. He could feel the dampness of the ground seeping into his trousers and dress shirt. A shiver racked his body, making him suddenly aware of the fact he was freezing. 

_Why didn’t he have his jacket on? Why was it so cold?_

His lack of memory of how he ended up in this situation was slightly disturbing to him. The sounds around him slowly filtered into his confused thinking. There was a whisper of wind through the trees and even more worrisome he could hear a slight shuffling noise off to his right. As the sound got closer a trickle of fear managed to penetrate his confused barely tethered thoughts. The sound of a low but urgent groan finally drove Russ to open his eyes. The blurry red-tinted picture in front of him did not help much. Blinking several times to get his eyes to focus, Russ managed to see and eventually comprehend the scene in front of him. There was a car upside down resting on its roof and the trunk lid was open. The red glow was coming from the brake lights as the car was still running and one wheel was spinning slowly. Russ watched it in confusion trying to make sense of what he was seeing; his pain was making it very difficult to think. Another groan off to his left shifted his focus from the crashed car. There was a man gagged and his hands and feet bound and he was slowly inching forward trying to reach him, a frantic worried look on his face. 

Russ stared back in confusion, he knew him…

Then the name came back to him in a flash and all the confusing mix of emotions that were tied to it as well. 

_Milt_

He was the man who had become his de facto partner even if Russ would never admit it out loud. Milt looked ok, no visible injuries but he was agitated, his eyes wide with fear and he kept yelling but Russ couldn’t make out the words muffled behind the gag. 

Then the smell of smoke penetrated the bewildered fog surrounding his brain, bringing with it a sense of urgency. Russ had to get up and get him and Milt to safety. He rolled over onto his side with a groan, the movement making him aware of several bruises and sore places. He managed to get to his knees but when he tried to stand his vision went black along the edges and he collapsed onto his backside.

“Son of bitch,” Russ ground out. 

The smell of smoke was now heavy in the air and growing thicker by the minute. His head felt like it was going to split in two but he had to get to Milt, had to make sure he was okay. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Russ once again pushed himself to his feet, managing to stay standing this time. Russ swayed and stumbled over to Milt before collapsing next to his feet intent on untying Milt’s roped ankles. He grabbed the rope and started trying to untie the knot but had to close his eyes as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn’t even imagine how painful it would be to throw up right now. Against his will Russ drifted losing touch on the here and now, it was so easy to just sink down into the darkness. 

Muffled shouting next to him got louder and more urgent causing Russ to pull back from the inviting dark and open his eyes just in time to see the car become completely engulfed in flames. Even as confused and muffled as reality felt right now he knew they were way too close and that the gas tank could go at any moment. 

His fingers felt numb and uncoordinated as they fumbled with the ropes. He could feel the heat of the flames against his face and knew he would never be able to untie Milt in time. 

Kneeling next to Milt, who was watching him with wide eyes, Russ slurred out, “Don’t worry…Milt. I..I’m going to get you out of here.” 

Russ grabbed Milt and sat him up and pulled him towards his body and pushed himself up at the same time, and finally hulled the other man into a fireman’s carry. Russ prayed to whatever God was up there that this would work because he knew if he fell down now he wouldn’t be able to get back up. 

Staggering slowly up the embankment, he couldn’t help but pant out, “Why the fuck are you so heavy?” Not waiting for an answer he continued on his words coming out unbidden and in gasps, “I guess that’s what happens when you’re 6 4’…handsome…and well built.” Russ’ brain finally caught up to what his mouth was saying and he forced himself to stop talking.

All of the sudden there was a whooshing sound behind them and a blast of hot air knocked Russ completely off his feet and he landed hard in the dirt with Milt hitting the ground next to him. Russ instinctively curled himself over Milt trying to protect him from the burning debris that was raining down around them. 

Looking up in disbelief and shock, Russ saw what was left of the car. The shell of what had been the vehicle was still on fire only now there was a blast radius around it, with fiery pieces of the car scattered in all directions. The explosion had even felled several trees and a few bushes were on fire. 

There was an urgent groan next to him and Russ turned and pulling down Milt’s gag asked, “Are you okay?”

Milt was breathing heavily and said a little hysterically, “I’m I alright? Russ, I’m fine. You were the one beat into unconsciousness, then thrown into the trunk of a car, only to be thrown out of it in a horrific car accident. Are you alright?”

The last couple of days suddenly came back to him. They had been working on a blackmailing case of a local politician. It was a tough nut to crack because whatever the blackmailers had on the councilmember kept the man from talking to them or even acknowledging there was anything wrong. They were doggedly persistent and were actually making some progress when it all went to hell. The blackmailers had gotten tired of their interference and they had ambushed them and had taken them to a rundown warehouse. Russ being who he was had mouthed off at the wrong moment and the two blackmailers had taken their frustration out on him, only stopping when he had lapsed into unconsciousness. 

Russ didn’t answer Milt’s query because honestly he wasn’t so instead he said, “I need…to get you untied,” 

“I have a swiss army knife in my front pocket,” Milt said, looking displeased at Russ dodging his question.

Russ snorted and reached into Milt’s inside jacket pocket saying with fond amusement, “Always the boy scout.”

As he started to saw through the rope, Russ asked, “What happened after I passed out?”

“When they finally realized you were unconscious they stopped hitting you and instead began to panic,” Milt recounted, his voice was thick with anger. Russ met his eyes remembering Milt shouting in the background for the men to stop, and how utterly frantic and almost broken he had sounded. Unable to stand seeing Milt so open with all he felt for him, Russ dropped his eyes and continued trying to free him. 

Russ got through the rope on Milt’s feet and then started on the bonds on his wrists, “So how did we end up out here in the middle of the forest?”

“They decided that the best way to fix the mess they had created was to take us out to some deserted spot and get rid of us,” Milt said, finishing his tale with a victorious shout as Russ managed to free his hands. 

Inexplicably Russ felt the urge to kiss the triumphant smile that had spread across Milt’s face. He didn’t, instead he blurted out, “I think I have a concussion.”

Milt reached up brushed against a painful cut on Russ’ forehead. Causing Russ shrink back and exclaim, “Ouch!” Batting Milt’s hand away before reaching up feeling the jagged skin for himself. 

“I wouldn’t doubt it you were hit pretty hard,” Milt said, before he in turn grabbed Russ’ hand holding it in his own, “Don’t touch it.”

Russ shot back, “You started it.”

Milt huffed out a laugh, “Real mature.”

Russ found himself smiling in return and it was then he noticed his hand was still in Milt’s and the other man was running his thumb slowly over his knuckles. He found he didn’t mind so much and in fact wanted Milt to keep doing it and so in a panic Russ stood up abruptly pulling his hand from Milt’s. 

It was a stupid thing to do as he figured out a second later when thanks to his abrupt change of altitude his stomach tried to turn itself inside out. He felt a hand rubbing soothing circles on his back as Russ threw up everything he had eaten in the last twenty-four hours. 

Wiping the back of his hand against his mouth when he was finally able to stop, Russ rasped out, “Yeah definitely a concussion.” Taking a glance at Milt he couldn’t even begin to unpack the myriad of emotions running across the man’s face, so instead of dealing with the growing tension between them, Russ turned away taking in the deserted dirt road they found themselves on which was only illuminated by the car fire behind them and asked sarcastically, “They didn’t happen to give you back our cell phones did they?”

He saw Milt shake his head negatively out of the corner of his eye and heaved an exhausted sigh, trying to ignore the fact that it felt like he was standing on the deck of a ship even though he knew the ground wasn’t moving. 

Looking to the left and the right and seeing nothing but trees and darkness, Russ figured their best bet was to go to the right as that way they were at least going down the mountain and hopefully towards civilization. 

After explaining his logic to Milt he was surprised when he readily agreed because usually it took an argument or two before either man was willing to concede the other was right. 

They took a few steps then Milt grabbed his arm halting his movement and pointing back to the burning car and said, “Should we try to put that out? I’m worried the fire will spread.”

Russ shrugged his shoulders unsure just as the heavens opened up and the rain poured down. 

“Goddamnit!” Russ ground out, yanking his arm free from Milt’s grasp and continuing on. 

**~Battle Creek~**

Russ’ entire focus was putting one foot in front of the other when all he really wanted to do was stop and pass out.

They had been walking for what felt like hours barely able to see where they were going as the rain continued, the cloud cover obscuring any light the moon may have given them. Plus the rain had turned the dirt road into a muddy quagmire they had to slough through. On top of that Russ knew his concussion was affecting him more than he was willing to admit out loud, he tried to control his weaving from side to side as he walked next to Milt but the more he tried the more he stumbled along like a drunk during a sobriety check.

When he made a particularly bad misstep Milt reached out his hand to steady him, Russ jerked away automatically and growled out, “I don’t need any help.”

Which was when Russ found himself tripping over his own feet and would’ve face planted into the mud if Milt hadn’t caught him.

Wrapping one of his arms around Russ’ waist, Milt said, “It’s okay to accept help every once in a while.”

Head aching, cold seeping into his bones and barely able to see straight, Russ found himself leaning into Milt and conceded, “Yeah maybe.”

They walked silently for a few minutes, Russ felt himself resting more and more of his weight against Milt and found he was unable to stop or even really want to. Milt was warm and solid and giving and dependable.

“Giving, solid, and dependable huh?” Milt asked, amusement lacing his usual placid tone. 

Realizing he had been talking out loud again without knowing it, Russ quickly changed the subject, “How far…until…we reach some sort of civilization?” Exhaustion making every word come out ragged and breathy even though Milt was doing most of the work.

“We were in that trunk for at least a couple of hours. Depending on which forest he drove us to it could be right around the next corner or we might have to walk all night before we see something,” Milt said, worriedly. 

Russ tried to nod but found to his shock he couldn’t instead his legs gave out, pulling Milt down with him. Milt managed to break their fall; he gathered Russ’ lax body to him trying to keep him out of the mud. 

“Russ?!?!?” Milt shouted urgently, feeling along his neck looking for a pulse.

Russ opened his eyes not realizing when he had closed them, he wanted to reassure Milt he was okay, he just needed to rest a bit and then he could keep going. What came out was a surprise to both of them Russ found himself pleading, “Don’t leave me.” Then his eyes slipped closed and he found he could no longer fight the urge to slip into unconsciousness. 

**~Battle Creek~**

This time when Russ woke up there was no confusion he knew instantly he was in the hospital. Once you’ve spent any amount of time in a hospital as a patient you are never taken by surprise when you end up in one again. It was the smell of disinfectant, the scratch of the rough bed linens and the beep of your heart monitor. 

Russ opened his eyes, already pissed off because he hated being in the hospital. Although he had to admit he was very glad to no longer be lost in the middle of the forest walking for miles through the rain. Looking to his left he expected Milt to be sitting next to his bed and then refused to acknowledge the disappointment and hurt he felt when the chair next to his bed was empty. After all he had no idea what happened after he passed out and who knew how long he had been out? Maybe Milt went home to get some much needed rest after all Russ was a grown man and didn’t need a babysitter. His thoughts sounded a bit petulant even to himself so he turned his attention finding the call button in order to ring a nurse and find out how long he had been here.

Just as he found the button the door opened and in came Milt appearing well rested and none the worse for wear. Russ couldn’t help noticing he was looking rather good. Milt was wearing his gray suit which Russ always thought brought out his dark brown eyes really well. Shaking his head at his wayward thoughts, Russ returned Milt’s enthusiastic greeting with a grunt of irritation at the other man’s determined cheeriness. 

“I’m so glad you are awake. You had me worried,” Milt enthused, sitting down in the chair next to Russ’ bed. 

“How long was I out?” Russ asked, feeling a bit disappointed when Milt didn’t take his hand that was resting on the bed and then feeling out of sorts that he would even have that thought and wondering if they had put him on any sort of medication.

Milt ran a hand through his hair, which now that Russ really got a look at it saw it wasn’t as perfect as it usually was, like he had run a hand through it often. 

Blowing out a ragged sigh Milt said in a thick voice, “Actually it’s been about two days. Doctors were starting to get worried.”

From the look on Milt’s face it wasn’t only the doctor’s who were worried but since feelings were the last thing Russ ever wanted to talk about he didn’t comment on it instead he asked, “The last thing I remember is passing out on the road. What happened after that?’

“Well I picked you up and kept walking. After about a half an hour I ran across a cabin. Although empty, it had a phone so I called for help and in short order you were taken to the hospital. I led the local authorities to the car and the now deceased men inside,” Milt said.

Russ nodded although he made sure to do so gingerly because his brain felt fragile like it was made of spun glass and one wrong move could break it. Reaching up he felt along the bandage on his head. 

His hand was taken away by Milt who chided, “Don’t touch that.”

This time when Milt continued to hold his hand and started to rub his thumb along his knuckles Russ didn’t pull his hand away instead he asked, “What did the doctors say?”

Milt said his brows knitted a bit in concern, “They believe you have a pretty severe concussion and now that you have woken up will probably want to keep you here for a few more days. In fact I should probably tell them you are awake.”

He made to stand up but Russ didn’t want that; he was afraid if Milt left the real world would intrude and they would never get back to this moment. Whatever was going on between them felt fragile, and ephemeral and if he let Milt leave it would go back to how it was, where they ignored the way they felt about each other. 

So he gripped Milt’s hand harder and said earnestly, “Don’t go.”

Milt sat back down now holding Russ’ hand with both of his and in a concerned laced voice said, “Hey it’s okay. I’ll be right back.”

Russ said irritably, “I know,” then continued on in a softer voice, “I just…” Looking down at their joined hands he stopped talking because although he knew what he wanted, and who he wanted, he was too scared of being hurt or rejected to outright ask.

“Russ, look at me,” Milt whispered his tone compelling Russ to obey, and Russ didn’t have it in him to be his usual ornery self so he met Milt’s gaze.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Milt said and he reached over and lovingly cradled the side of Russ’ face. 

Russ leaned into it soaking in the warmth and care that Milt was radiating towards him, and then when Milt stood and bent over the rail he was ready when Milt’s lips met his for the first time. 

The kiss was brief but it held such promise that when they parted Russ couldn’t help smiling against Milt’s lips thoroughly reassured and saying, “Okay you can go get them now.”

Milt smiled down at him and returned in a husky voice, “In a moment,” then he dived back in kissing Russ deeply, which Russ returned with equal fervor. 

**The End**


End file.
